May the calm be widespreadMay the sea glisten like the greenstoneAnd may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A new use for an old ladder

I love to find old things which have outlived their original usefulness, and recycle them in my garden as pieces of garden art.

This old wooden ladder had been lying out in the grass beside the barn for eons, and every time I walked by it, I looked at it considering how I could use it in one of my gardens.

I decided the corner by the front porch would be just the place for the ladder.

After removing some pots containing a Japanese maple and some hellebores, I placed the ladder inside the fence, leveled it and proceeded to place potted plants I had scrounged from other places around the house, on the steps and top of the ladder.

A view of the competed project from below the step to the porch.

A birdhouse and sign I found, to add a little interest.

The hummingbird pot had been sitting on a shelf, waiting for that special place to live. I also had some hen & chicks looking for a place to live, so I paired the two of them and they are now happily occupying a place on one of the ladder's steps.

A pot of impatients and a fuchsia are perched on what was once a shelf of the ladder. A couple of polished stones and a small green lizard add a little pizazz to the vignette.

One of the bird houses, bought from a dollar store, which sit atop the fence posts surrounding the garden.

After returning the potted Japanese maple to one side of the ladder and replacing the pieces of granite around the top of the two pots (the maple in it's pot, is sitting inside a larger decorative pot) I went in search for something to add a little interest. I thought the birdhouse does the trick, don't you?

Looking at my favorite place to sit, either in the early morning while drinking my coffee, if I am not wandering the garden with my camera taking pictures, or out of the heat later in the day. There is also a small water feature in the corner, which lends a soothing sound to this lovely spot.

Hi KeeWee, what a lovely idea to use the old ladder and give it a new lease of life. Your garden is in full swing producing lots of veg, I have not heard of Bird house gourds and look forward to seeing your finished craft project.

I love old finds too KeeWee and your ladder is just great. It looks beautiful with all the pots and garden stuff arranged on it. I have a much smaller one (two steps) that I put my amaryllis bulbs on for the summer.

It all looks just right! I can imagine you sitting on your bench, enjoying the beauty around you.

We've put plants on a ladder before, but I don't remember if we put other things with them. I'll have to remember that. This year, I don't think we put any pots on a ladder, but 1 is leaning against a fence to add height to the bed. A morning glory is trying to grow up it, but isn't getting as much light as it would like. We have a couple short ones in the back yard, partly to block off areas where we don't want our dog, Heidi to dig.

Hi Jennifer~~ Is there no limit to your talents, my friend? I love how you've got a special place with special plantings for coffee or just to escape the heat.

I have an old wooden ladder too. It's literally falling apart but with the help of partially sunken rebar, it still rests in the garden holding up a Solanum crispum 'Glasnevin.' I'm always on the lookout for cool garden art. Or should I say, "stuff" that can be re-purposed into garden art.

You've inspired me to finish several projects. I've got bits of slate from when we installed the sidewalk that I've been meaning to paint and decorate for the garden. Now I've got to finish them! Thanks for the inspiration.